Why did you let yourself go?...

Depression and losing sight of myself.

This is the biggest thing for me.

But there were little things along the way. Going from a fairly active lifestyle (at least on my feet most of the day) to a cushy desk job. Going from a single woman living alone who was content to have cereal for dinner, to a married woman who ate regular meals. But mostly... depression and not giving a damn. Staying thin was no longer a priority. When depression hits, NOTHING is a priority.

There's no deep, meaningful or emotional reason why I gained weight. It was simply because when I finished my GCSEs at age 16 my lifestyle changed a lot - I wasn't doing P.E/Gym lessons any more and I wasn't walking to school and back every day. Yet, I continued to eat the same. My calories in started to exceed my calories out.

From what I understand about myself at the age of 46 ...I let myself go --- willingly. And I have no excuses. No children, no childhood traumas ....I grew up in a typical Italian household...Was very active...youngest of five. Went to college -- played sports my whole life -- softball - volleyball -- swimming --gym memberships. Was always tall 5'10..... even when I was 13 yrs old. Carried my weight well being athletic. Worked...bought a home by myself . Maintained it myself. Retired early (age 35 on disability) and moved to Fla.
That is when it went down hill..... I had no boundaries any longer. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I had no financial restrictions. I wasn't accountable to anyone......took up some recreational habits (drinking...pot) that hurt my waist line. Gave them up after 7-8 yrs. Here I am ....100 lbs overweight and wondering why ?? Because I can't control myself. Can't control my portions. I need rules....guidelines...to be made accountable. My husband doesn't critique me, but when he does slip, it's in a real nasty way that makes me snap back at him. A vicious cycle no doubt. I am a highly educated person, with a deep understanding of nutrition. Sometimes I feel down-right over educated when it comes to food/diet/nutrition. I know fad diets are silly. That didn't stop me from trying HCG a few years back. And I lost 50 lbs on it....felt great....but what a blow to my social life. So that went out the window.
I know what I am supposed to do. I'm just not doing it. I have the beginnings of those aches and pains in my knees, my hips.
I play tennis at a 4.0 level and it is hard on the body.....I am at a crossroad .....want to continue my fabulous life.... I LOVE my life...but I must lose weight before my health declines so badly that I lose everything.
I am well aware that this should be my priority in my life....making myself do it is the hard part. It's almost like I am pushing myself to break.... Comments/thoughts appreciated as always...good or bad....I've said it all to myself already.

I had four babies in five years...before I even got off the pregnancy weight, I was pregnant again . I have PCOS with insulin resistance and hypothyroidism, which made it difficult to lose ANY weight after having a baby, on top of the close pregnancies. Throw in severe PPD and boredom eating from being very isolated and having no one but toddlers to talk to all day. Not making excuses. It's just the "why." I didn't actually keep gaining. I maintained weight about 20 pounds heavier than what I should have been. After the PPD fog lifted, I was able to be more disciplined, with the help of MFP, about what and how much I was eating. I now actually weigh less than I did before I got pregnant the first time. I still do sometimes have problems with eating out of boredom (I always have plenty to do, but I think it's mental boredom/loneliness), but I started crocheting and sewing to keep my hands busy in the evenings when the kids are in bed and I'm tempted to give in to munching.

Pure laziness. I've always been thin, so it was never really "letting myself go." But being a naturally small person (on the short side too), I know I am risk for osteoporis, which kind of scares me. For me to be healthy I need to work on building muscles. I'm a nurse so I particularly need to watch my back. I already have joint and back problems, and some muscles would help me. I go back and forth on working to improve this, but then I get super lazy. But I'm back on track. Also I was with my parents the summer after uni and they severely lack the fruits and vegetable I love, so I gained a bit out bored eating junk food.

For me MFP is a good place because it helps me balance out eating with exercise. The more active I am, the less hungry I get and I know I often don't eat enough.

Undiagnosed medical

Depression and losing sight of myself.

... depression and not giving a damn. Staying thin was no longer a priority. When depression hits, NOTHING is a priority.

True story. And it's so hard to force myself into exercising when some days I don't even care about if I'll wake up next day. :frown:

I grew up in a house with relatively thin family members. We ate junk food, and I ate more than they did. I didn't have the tools as a child to know what and how to eat. I knew I wanted to lose weight (it was an issue as long as I can remember), but until I grew up, moved away and started cooking for myself, I really just felt overwhelmed and lost. My main motivation now is to provide my children with the right tools and information to live healthy lifestyles. They may choose not to at some point, but they'll never have the problem of not knowing HOW to.

I hated myself, I was around people that constantly put me down my entire life. I was told I couldn't do things due to having asthma and then after gaining a lot of weight due to a heavy steroid dosage over a summer (weekly checkups on my kidney's and all that fun stuff) I was bullied due to being fat.

That's the short version, wrote the entire story and it just seems too much like pity me and I don't want to come off that way. It's my fault I was the one in control and I allowed others to put me down and make me feel like I wasn't in control. Now it's just me I walked away from everyone that hurt me and put me down. It's something I should had done when I was 18.

Now I'm happier than ever but got a few lbs to drop to feel better physically about myself.

I just had other priorities and it seemed like such a mysterious endeavor. I have probably owned a bookshelf full of diet books in my lifetime, all with very different messages.